Comments on: Mussina myth vs. reality

By: AJW

AJW — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:35:20 +0000

Suck up what innings Pete? This guy runs the count to 2-2 or 3-2 on almost every batter and his pitch count gets to the high 90’s by the 4th inning? You call that sucking up innings? Great way to burn out your bullpen that way.

By: rover

rover — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:28:03 +0000

i have come to a conclusion. the only reason to play the game is to screw with the stat heads.

By: rover

rover — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:18:20 +0000

joe from long island.
come across the bay to largo, try the E&E steakout. terribly fine place to eat.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:40:51 +0000

Ranting Guy, et. all,

I can only speak for myself, but I will say I am not flipping out about Mussina because of what he did in one ST start. I was unhappy when Cashman resigned Mussina to a two-year deal, and I thought he was completely done last summer. Going into this off-season, I felt that the Yankees would need to figure out another option for 5th starter, and that some combination of Karstens/Horne/McCutchen/Marquez would probably get it done.

However, since we are talking about Mussina’s ST appearance, I will say that his comments after the outing made it seem like he’s in as much denial about his stuff as he was last summer when he was incredulous at being dropped from the rotation after getting mauled in August. He claims that he just didn’t have his strikeout pitch… well, he didn’t have a strikeout pitch at any point last year, either. He was among the worst in the league at converting two-strike counts to K’s, and he was the worst in the league at getting batters to swing and miss. He simply doesn’t have it any more. He didn’t have it last year, and chance are he still doesn’t have it. At this point, it’s up to him to prove the position wrong, but I don’t think he can. At this point in his career, he is only marginally effective off of extended rest and utterly useless as part of a 5-man rotation.

By: RottenAppleSports

RottenAppleSports — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:44:49 +0000

Peter, why do you continue the Mussina inflation effect??? We are not flipping out because he had one poor inning in Spring Training. We are flipping out because Mussina has been absolutely TERRIBLE in the last 2 seasons and there is no reason to believe he will be any better this year. If anything, he will be worse. When he came in to mop up last year in the playoff game, it was as if we should be happy that he only gave up a few runs. This guy has no business being the #3 starter by any stretch! Are you crazy?? Please tell me that you honestly think Hughes, Joba, or Ian are not better than Mussina right now. The only reason Mussina is on this roster right now is because we need a pitcher to pick up the slack for innings that Hughes, Kennedy, and Joba can’t cover due to their limits. He’s better than Kyle Lohse, and we’d still have to pay him if we signed Livan Hernandez or someone of that ilk (that ilk meaning better than Mussina). So please Pete, don’t chastise us. I watch the Yankees every single day, just like you, and although I may not be around the club as much as you, this I do know: every day that Mussina starts, I tend to not watch.

By: catjya

catjya — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:31:43 +0000

Don’t want him killed but glad this is his last year. He along with some of the others *long in the tooth* have had their day~ Yankees must get younger in order to compete!

By: CubanC

CubanC — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:14:23 +0000

Pete, by your logic if we should not be worried about Mussina getting hammered then we should also not be as impressed by what McCutchen or Melancon do in the spring. It goes both ways.

By: TurnTwo

TurnTwo — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:46:41 +0000

agreed. Moose may sit in the 3 spot in the rotation behind Andy, but what the Yankees basically need from him is to give 5-6 innings a start, and have an ERA that sits somewhere around 4.5… They need him to be a serviceable 5 starter at this point, which is well within his grasp.

People need to relax with this washed up stuff. Take a look around baseball, and the back of other team’s rotation, and then be thankful you have a pitcher like Moose to round out this rotation. He’s not the Moose the Yankees signed back in 2001, but they dont need him to be anymore.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:54:43 +0000

Buddy Biancalana -

I think its crazy to label Moose as a #3 starter. He is a #5 starter on the Yankees, case closed.

By: Doreen

Doreen — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:40:42 +0000

whozat -

I’m with you, but at this point, you are preaching to the choir!